Season 3
Season 3 of Miami Vice premiered on September 26, 1986 on NBC, with the season premiere "When Irish Eyes Are Crying". The third season concluded on May 8, 1987 after 24 episodes, with the season finale "Heroes of the Revolution". It was released on DVD on March 20, 2007. Season 3 is currently available for viewing on the NBC website. Regular Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito (12 episodes) *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo *Martin Ferrero as Isadore "Izzy" Moreno (7 episodes) Guest Stars :See: List of Guest Stars Music :See: Season 3 Music Changes More so than at any other point in the series, notable changes to the show's format occur at the beginning of the third season. * The Miami Vice logo in the opening sequence is illuminated in ice blue instead of pink. The pink lettering of the word "Vice" is also changed to purple. * The storylines, along with the general tones of the show, become grittier and nihilistic; more episodes end abruptly after a violent climax that leaves numerous people dead, both good as bad alike. * In line with the general tonal changes, the music that is featured shifts away from the popular, upbeat synthpop and soft rock heard in the first two seasons towards darker material, including new wave, electronic and metal sounds. * Crockett's car changes to the Ferrari Testarossa in "Stone's War" (although his Daytona, which is destroyed in the premiere "When Irish Eyes Are Crying", reappears mysteriously in "El Viejo", indicating the network changed the running order of the episodes). * Tubbs' hair becomes short, whilst Crockett's becomes shorter and spiked in appearance. * The pastel clothing is largely eschewed in favour of greens, yellows, blues and dark greys, a move severely criticised by fans at the time. Some of the new fashion even violates Michael Mann's famous "No Earth Tones!" rule that he implemented when developing the wardrobe for the show. * Further to the fashion changes, Crockett relinquishes his beloved Ray-Ban Wayfarers for Persol 69218s. These will last only through this season. * Crockett's sidearm from season 1 and season 2, the Dornaus & Dixon Bren Ten 10mm is gone. He now uses a .45-caliber Smith & Wesson 645. * Larry Zito dies in "Down for the Count (Part I)", and is not replaced. As such, Stan Switek becomes a more focused supporting character, particularly in subsequent seasons, and handles the team's surveillance duties on his own. * Appearances of Elvis, Crockett's pet alligator, are gradually phased out this season and he will only be mentioned in passing from now on (except for a picture in "Love at First Sight" and a flashback in "A Bullet for Crockett", both from season 4, and briefly during the closing montage of season 5's "Freefall"). What happens to Elvis is never explained. * Several recurring characters from first two seasons, such as Valerie Gordon, Noogie, Ample Annie and Tommy, are dropped for the third season. While some would ultimately return later in the show's run, most notably Valerie and Noogie, others would never be seen again. * Crockett's sailboat, the St. Vitus Dance, is now an Endeavour 42, changing from the smaller Endeavour 40 (the Endeavour 42 was introduced at the beginning of season 2, but some episodes still featured the Endeavour 40). * Smoking among the characters (especially Crockett) is gradually phased out. * Dick Wolf takes over from Michael Mann as line producer, and the storylines reflect his "ripped from the headlines" style, made famous a few years later with Law & Order. Mann largely leaves the production to work on his new series Crime Story and his film Manhunter, which features a large number of Miami Vice guest stars including Crime Story lead Dennis Farina and Vice regular Michael Talbott. Notes * Season 3 aired Friday nights at 9:00pm, directly competing with CBS' Dallas, a move that caused ratings for both shows to drop. * This season is the longest in the series, airing 24 episodes; all other seasons aired 22 episodes (with the exception of season 5, which aired 17 episodes during its original run and 4 more after, for a total of 21). * Vice's trademark use of guest stars reaches its peak this season, with numerous episodes featuring actors/actresses that would go on to become among the most famous names in Hollywood. * Season 3 features by far the most appearances of popular supporting character Izzy Moreno, with the character appearing in seven episodes. * Miami Vice's year end rating was #22. Episodes Category:Season 3